Fabio Capello, former AC Milan coach, gave a long and interesting interview to the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, focusing in particular on Milan and the development of Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta under his management.
Here is an excerpt from his words:
"During my career, I worked for many years in the youth sector at Milan. I saw Maldini, Costacurta, Stroppa, and many others emerge up close. What did I learn on the pitch? To trust talents when we glimpse potential. I carried that lesson with me into my work as a coach. I remember when, in 1991, I pushed to bring Demetrio Albertini back to Milan from his loan at Padova: there were people telling me, ‘He’s not ready, Fabio.’”
Capello added:
"But I’ve always believed that a strong youngster can grow better by training alongside champions and then gradually earning playing time, rather than constantly being sent out on loan. For example, at Roma I had De Rossi and Aquilani train with the first team. They were young, but you could already tell they had something more than the others. So, at a certain point, I decided to test them: one half each in a lesser match. De Rossi looked ready to me, Aquilani less so, and that’s why I made the former an integral part of the team.”
